Kara Sears
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation in South Africa that was widely practised before 1948. When the National Party, led by Daniel F. Malan, came into power that year, they extended the policy and gave it the name 'apartheid'. The African National Congress (ANC), the country's oldest Black political party, played a key role in resisting apartheid laws. In 1952, the ANC started the Defiance Campaign, which called on people to purposefully break apartheid laws and offer themselves for arrest. The ANC's history of resistance can be divided into three phases: dialogue and petition, direct opposition, and exiled armed struggle.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu |
| Organisation | African National Congress (ANC) |
| Campaign | Defiance Campaign |
| Year | 1952 |
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What You'll Learn
The Defiance Campaign
In 1952, the African National Congress (ANC) started the Defiance Campaign, which called on people to purposefully break apartheid laws and offer themselves for arrest. The ANC is South Africa's oldest Black political party. The Defiance Campaign was a mass mobilisation against racist laws, with Black workers boycotting white businesses, going on strike, and staging non-violent protests.
The ANC's history of resistance to apartheid can be divided into three phases: dialogue and petition; direct opposition; and exiled armed struggle. The Defiance Campaign was part of the second phase, which began in 1949, when the ANC started on a more militant path. That year, the ANC introduced their Programme of Action, which supported strike action, protests, and other forms of non-violent resistance.
The implementation of apartheid was made possible through the Population Registration Act of 1950, which classified all South Africans as either Bantu (all Black Africans), Coloured (those of mixed race), or white. A fourth category—Asian (Indian and Pakistani)—was later added. The Group Areas Act of 1950 established residential and business sections in urban areas for each race, and members of other races were barred from living, operating businesses, or owning land in them. This led to thousands of Coloured, Black, and Indian people being removed from areas classified for white occupation.
During the Defiance Campaign, Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, and Walter Sisulu started to play an important role in the ANC.
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The African National Congress
The history of resistance by the ANC can be divided into three phases: the first was dialogue and petition; the second was direct opposition; and the last was the period of exiled armed struggle. In 1949, just after apartheid was introduced, the ANC started on a more militant path, with the Youth League playing a more important role. The ANC introduced their Programme of Action in 1949, supporting strike action, protests, and other forms of non-violent resistance.
The ANC's Defiance Campaign was led by prominent figures such as Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, and Walter Sisulu, who played important roles in the organisation. In the 1950s, the National Party, led by Daniel F. Malan, extended the policy of racial segregation and gave it the name "apartheid". This period saw the implementation of laws such as the Population Registration Act of 1950, which classified all South Africans by race, and the Group Areas Act of 1950, which established residential and business sections in urban areas for each race, further entrenching racial segregation.
Despite the challenges and oppression faced by Black South Africans under apartheid, the ANC remained steadfast in its commitment to resisting these oppressive laws. Their efforts, along with those of other anti-apartheid activists and organisations, eventually led to the repeal of apartheid legislation in the early 1990s under the administration of South African President F.W. de Klerk. A new constitution was adopted in 1993, enfranchising Blacks and other racial groups, marking a significant step towards a more inclusive and just society in South Africa.
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The Programme of Action
In 1949, the African National Congress (ANC) introduced their Programme of Action, which supported strike action, protests and other forms of non-violent resistance. The ANC's Programme of Action was a direct response to the introduction of apartheid in South Africa in 1948.
Under apartheid, racial segregation was sanctioned by law. The National Party, led by Daniel F. Malan, extended the policy and gave it the name 'apartheid'. The Population Registration Act of 1950 classified all South Africans as either Bantu (all Black Africans), Coloured (those of mixed race), or white. A fourth category—Asian (Indian and Pakistani)—was later added.
The ANC's Programme of Action urged Black South Africans to protest their treatment within apartheid. In the 1950s, the ANC initiated a mass mobilisation against the racist laws, called the Defiance Campaign. Black workers boycotted white businesses, went on strike, and staged non-violent protests. The Defiance Campaign called on people to purposefully break apartheid laws and offer themselves for arrest.
Legislation supporting apartheid was repealed in the early 1990s, and a new constitution—one that enfranchised blacks and other racial groups—was adopted in 1993.
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$16.17 $26.84
The Group Areas Act
The African National Congress (ANC) urged black South Africans to break apartheid laws. In 1952, the ANC started the Defiance Campaign, which called on people to purposefully break apartheid laws and offer themselves for arrest. Black workers boycotted white businesses, went on strike, and staged non-violent protests.
The act was used primarily to push non-whites out of areas in which they had previously settled. It imposed control over interracial property transactions and property occupation throughout South Africa. The Group Areas Act created the legal framework for varying levels of government to establish particular neighbourhoods as 'group areas', where only people of a particular race were able to reside.
The act was amended almost annually and was re-enacted in the Consolidation Acts of 1957 and 1966. The final version of the law was not repealed until 1991. The Group Areas Act displaced hundreds of thousands of people, breaking up families, friends, and communities. This was due in large part to the retroactive application of the law, meaning that once an area was declared a group area, the government had the power to demolish all the houses there and displace everyone who was not of the designated group.
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The Population Registration Act
The Act was a key component of the apartheid regime's policy of "separate development", which aimed to segregate and control the movement and lives of Black South Africans. The Act enabled the government to enforce racial segregation in urban areas, with each race being assigned specific residential and business sections. Members of other races were prohibited from living, operating businesses, or owning land in areas designated for white occupation, leading to the displacement of thousands of Coloured, Black, and Indian people.
In response to these oppressive laws, the African National Congress (ANC), the country's oldest Black political party, launched a mass mobilisation campaign known as the Defiance Campaign in 1952. The campaign called on people to deliberately break apartheid laws and offer themselves for arrest. Black workers boycotted white businesses, went on strike, and staged non-violent protests to challenge the racist laws. The ANC's Programme of Action, introduced in 1949, had already advocated for strike action, protests, and other forms of non-violent resistance to apartheid.
The Defiance Campaign represented a shift towards more direct opposition to apartheid, marking the second phase in the ANC's history of resistance. The first phase had been characterised by dialogue and petition, while the third phase would involve exiled armed struggle. The ANC's efforts, along with the resistance of Black South Africans, played a crucial role in the eventual repeal of apartheid legislation in the early 1990s, leading to the adoption of a new constitution that enfranchised Blacks and other racial groups.
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Frequently asked questions
The African National Congress (ANC), the country's oldest Black political party, urged Black South Africans to break apartheid laws.
The ANC started urging Black South Africans to break apartheid laws in 1952, when they started the Defiance Campaign.
The Defiance Campaign called on people to purposefully break apartheid laws and offer themselves for arrest. It also involved Black workers boycotting white businesses, going on strike, and staging non-violent protests.
